Kim: We haven’t had to yet. When Mike and I left the world of finance, people naturally wanted to know what we were off doing. So there was a little bit of buzz from that.
On top of this, I am the proud father of Turtle the Weimaraner, so I’m up at the dog park and talk to my dog pals regularly.
We haven’t gone out and marketed the business aggressively yet. However, the initial feedback has been tremendous, so we’re bringing on a marketing manager and PR team to help tell the story to as many as people as possible.
Our real marketing push is in front of us. That said, our focus is always going to be on the customer – we’re not in the business of jacking up prices on our customers to accommodate inflated advertising budgets and funky branding.
Our focus is on selling great quality dog food at affordable prices.
Michael: Our customers love the recurring pet food concept.
We had thousands of loving dog owners day one who really resonated with the problems we were solving: paying too much for good quality dog food and having to lug around heavy bags.
The response was so strong we even had cat owners begging us to start catering for their four-legged friends, and we’ve already brought great quality cat food into the range.
Kim: I have everything I can delivered to my house these days – fresh fruit and vegies, clothes and Christmas presents.
We work really hard at Paws for Life, and I just don’t have the time to worry about getting down to the shops for the necessities.
Everything is on my door step when I get home at night, which leaves me more time to spend enjoying life and building this great business.
Michael: We are not leveraged to the economic climate at all. In fact, the GFC proved that pet spending is not related to economic conditions at all.
The biggest asset we have is our team – we want the best people, and keeping them engaged and happy is a task we deal with every day.
Therefore, the biggest risk is losing them, not any fluctuations in the markets.
Kim: First of all, the pet industry is not a niche industry.
Pet food spending is currently at $2.78 billion in Australia and is expected to grow to $2.88 billion by next year, according to IBISWorld.
That aside, it’s important for any start-up to know their product, their customers, their market and their competition. Each product has unique characteristics that lend itself to certain logistics, marketing and customer channels.
If you haven’t done your research, you’re going to spend a lot of time and money learning some hard lessons before you start. Do your homework.
Michael: Ask for help. People are out there in the world, doing what you want to do already. Ask them for help – most of the time they will be willing to have a coffee and a chat.
You have to go into business assuming people are generally good. Try to find win-win situations whenever you can.
Negotiations are conversations aimed at understanding what the other side wants, and how best you can facilitate that. Ironically, I learnt this in investment banking.
Sit around a table and optimise the outcome for everyone involved and don’t be greedy. This way, you are the most likely to come to a deal and have the most people engaged in the outcome as possible.
